


Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily Live Happily Ever After

by simplysirius



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Feels, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Jily Fluff, M/M, One Shot, Pining, Relationship(s), Remus x Sirius, jily, jily angst, sirius x remus, wolfstar, wolfstar angst, wolfstar fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-19 01:48:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29867322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/simplysirius/pseuds/simplysirius
Summary: Surrounded by Sirius, James, and Lily, Remus lives a lovely, charmed life, full of midnight card games and warm cups of tea. It’s the happily ever after he always dreamed of.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 15
Kudos: 42





	Remus, Sirius, James, and Lily Live Happily Ever After

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Tumblr @simplysirius for daily fics and fan art! I also take requests :)

“Any twos?”

“Go fish.”

“Any nines?”

“Go fish.”

Lily pouted, tossing her cards on the table. “This game is stupid.”

James laughed. “You were the one who suggested it. You’re just mad you keep losing.”

“That’s because Sirius keeps cheating.”

“Am not!” Sirius denied, his cheeky grin indicating that he was, most definitely, cheating.

Remus shook his head, setting his cards down on the table and stepping over Sirius’ knees. “Does anyone want tea?”

“How can you drink tea on a Friday night at…what time is it anyways?”

Lily glanced at the tall grandfather clock near the door. “Eleven fifty-seven.”

“How can you not drink tea on a Friday night at eleven fifty-seven?” Remus shrugged, disappearing into the kitchen.

There was a mess of dishes on the counter, the sink already full, and the garbage needed to be taken care of, but that could wait until morning. Shoes were piled high by the back door, fancy high tops and worn loafers, beat up trainers and tall boots, and the floorboards above squeaked as their house guests moved about. It was nice having a full house, all the beds occupied, the linen closet empty.

Remus returned to the living room and sat beside Sirius on the sofa, the warm tendrils of steam splashing over his cheeks. He took one sip before Sirius’ fingers tugged the cup away.

“I thought you said you didn’t want any tea?” Remus sighed as Sirius peered at him from over the rim.

“I changed my mind,” Sirius smiled, handing back the half-gone cup and kissing his cheek. “Needs some sugar.”

James wrinkled his nose. “If you two start making out on the couch again, I’ll hex you both into next week.”

Lily batted his shoulder. “Leave them alone, it’s cute.”

“Tell me, Prongs,” Sirius said, draping his legs over Remus’ lap and rolling his eyes, “how does it feel to know that your seventeen year old son is a better wizard than you are in your elderly age?”

“He is not,” James argued, a proud smile betraying his face. Harry was, of course, already a better wizard than any of them, a fact that was frequently touted by his slightly drunk father, all too excited to show people the photos in his wallet. “He still doesn’t get the whole apparating thing.”

“That’s because you’re a horrible teacher,” Lily chastised, poking his cheek. “He’ll get it on the first try with me, you just watch.”

Sirius grimaced, wrapping an arm around Remus’ shoulders and pulling him in close. “I think Hogwarts’ newest, brightest, and hottest teacher should do the honors. Isn’t that right, Professor Lupin?”

James and Lily whooped, clapping like Remus’ appointment as Hogwarts professor was something new and thrilling, like he hadn’t already been teaching for a few months. The thrill of hearing his name Professor Lupin, still hadn’t worn off yet. Walking down the long hallways in the castle, briefcase in one hand, the key to his office in the other, was something Remus thought he’d never get used to.

Everywhere he looked, he’d see flashes of his time at school. The corridors where James, Sirius, and he would hide behind, waiting for an unsuspecting student to walk into a carefully laid trap. Their places at the Gryffindor table, now taken by three new students, where they would throw peas at each other and fight for the last chocolate chip cookie. The shady corner of the courtyard where he and Sirius first kissed, pressed up against the trunk of a thick tree, fingers in hair, hips brushing hips, only worried about how long they could go without oxygen.

“I still want you guys to come in and talk to my classes,” Remus reminded, lacing his fingers with Sirius’. “Give them a real sense of what it’s like out in the real world.”

“Can we embarrass Harry while we’re there?” Sirius asked, two arched eyebrows wiggling.

“I’m sure you’ll find a way to lose Gryffindor a couple hundred points without even being a student anymore, Pads,” James laughed. “We could tell them some great stories, Lil. Like the time we almost died from the possessed centaur–”

“Or the time that Graphorn nearly pushed you off the edge of that mountain,” Lily chimed in, earning a tight grimace from James as his flinched at the memory.

Remus shook his head, pressing his lips together to keep from grinning. “Absolutely not, you can’t scare them! I’m helping raise the next generation, I can’t have them thinking I’m friends with a bunch of absolute nutters.”

Sirius swooped in and stole a sly kiss from Remus’ mouth. “But you’re the biggest nutter of them all, Moony.”

“I am not!” Remus cried.

“Professor Lupin?” a voice said quietly behind him. Remus turned to see Harry standing at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in his joggers and a ratty t-shirt, wringing his hands. Behind his glasses, his viridescent eyes flickered around the room, and he swallowed thickly. “Who are you talking to?”

“I–” Remus started, gesturing beside him to the empty space on the couch. The armchairs were empty. The room was empty, save for his quivering body, the tea in his cup sloshing around in his shaking hands. Playing cards were scattered on the table, covered in a dusty film, untouched for years. He stood quickly, not caring that the tea spilt, and rushed passed Harry without a word, ignoring his friends standing hesitantly at the top of the stairs, the other Order members probably somewhere behind them.

Clamping a hand over his mouth, Remus made it into the bedroom and slammed the door behind him before the first sob tore through his chest, every delicate heartstring snapping as he fell onto the bed, curling in sheets and pillows that once belonged to Sirius. He squeezed his eyes closed so he didn’t have to look at the remainder of a life ripped from his fingers; pictures taped on the walls of three, and then four, smiling Gryffindors, tattered love notes passed between classes kept in a drawer beside the bed, Sirius’ leather jacket hanging in the closet with a thin layer of dust on the sleeves. It didn’t smell like him anymore.

They were here, once. They were alive, faces flushed pink and skin warmed by the kiss of the sun. They were teeming with life, vivacious smiles and roaring laughter brightening the dismal walls.

And then they weren’t.

And then it was just Remus.

And then the world went gray.


End file.
